Parliament in Uganda has passed the Excise Duty (Amendment) Bill that includes the controversial Social Media Tax.
With the new bill becoming law, social media users in Uganda will have to pay 200 Ugandan shillings, an equivalent to 8 Kenyan shillings daily to access social media platforms including Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram.
The law that will come into force on July 1, will also require those who transact via mobile money to pay one percent on the value of the total transaction.
“People say that we are already taxing data. Have we been taxing the service? No. What we are taxing now, is service,” said Junior Planning Minister David Bahati.
It is said that the bill to tax social media in Uganda sailed through because 80 percent of the members of parliament are old men and women who have no clue about social media.